International Football Association Board

International Football Association Board

Logo
Abbreviation	IFAB
Founded	2 June 1886;137 years ago (1886-06-02)
Founded at	Manchester, England
Type	Self-regulatory body
Purpose	Management of the Laws of the Game
Headquarters	Zürich, Switzerland
Location	Commonly;   England   Scotland   Northern Ireland   Wales
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	FIFA The Football Association Scottish Football Association Football Association of Wales Irish Football Association
Secretary	Lukas Brud
Website	TheIFAB.com

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of association football that is known for determining the Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay of football. It was founded in 1886 in order to establish standardised regulations or "Laws" for the gameplay of international competition, and has since acted as the primary maintainer ("Guardian") of these Laws. FIFA, a prominent governing body for football, has recognised IFAB's jurisdiction over its Laws since its establishment in 1904. ^[1]

IFAB is a distinct body from FIFA, although FIFA is represented on the board and holds 50% of the voting power. The founding football associations of IFAB, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales each have permanent seats on the organisation. Amendments to the Laws mandate a three-quarter supermajority vote, meaning that FIFA's support is necessary but not sufficient for a motion to pass.

History

Establishment

The Laws of the Game in 1903

Although the rules of football had largely been standardised by the early 1880s, England's Football Association (The FA), the Scottish Football Association (SFA), the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and the Irish Football Association (IFA) had conflicting rules. When international matches were played, the rules of the home team's national association were used. While this solution was technically feasible, it was impractical. To remedy this, the FAs initialised a meeting on 6 December 1882 in Queen’s Hotel, Manchester in order to systematise a set of rules that could be applied uniformly to matches between the UK football associations' national teams. This was later named the “International Football Conference”.

In the summer of 1885, the English FA declared that it legalised professionalism. ^[2] The Scottish FA responded that it would refuse to allow professionals in its own national team, and would refuse to play international matches against an England team containing professionals. ^[3] The Irish FA attempted to arbitrate by proposing that "an international conference should be held each year, say, in August, to be called in turn by each national association to deal with the laws of the game, and discuss other matters of interest to Association football, and at which international disputes could be adjusted". ^[4]

Inaugural meeting and FIFA’s integration

The initial meeting of IFAB took place at The FA's offices at Holborn Viaduct in London on 2 June 1886. ^[5] The FA, SFA, FAW and IFA each had equal voting rights. It was chaired by Sir Francis Marindin, and attended by Charles W. Alcock acting as Secretary. ^[6] The meeting was notable for Marindin’s proposal, which outlined "That no player shall wear any kind of projection on the soles of heels of his boots with the exception of flat leather bars of an approved pattern". ^[6]

During IFAB’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 8 June 1912, the secretary, J.K. McDowall, scrutinised a letter that was attributed to the recently established FIFA, requesting that IFAB would invite a member of FIFA to sit on the Board. ^[7] The petition was analysed, and IFAB concluded that it wasn’t the right time to establish FIFA as a member, and McDowall proceeded to write a response to the organisation explaining the consensus. At a special meeting held on 25 January 1913 in Wrexham, IFAB approved FIFA’s request after a proposition by The FA was made proposing that two members from FIFA should attend the board, making FIFA the fifth member of IFAB.

Post–war

For the first four post-war IFAB meetings (1920, 1921, 1922, and 1923), FIFA was once again excluded, on account of a dispute between FIFA and the home nations regarding payments to amateur players. From 1924, the dispute had been reconciled, and FIFA resumed attendance of IFAB meetings. In 1958, the Board agreed on a voting system that would be used to this day. ^[8]

Since Irish partition in 1921, the IFA has evolved to become the organising body for football in Northern Ireland, with football in the Republic of Ireland being organised by the FAI. A request for the FAI to become a member of IFAB was denied at the 1923 annual general meeting. ^[9]

Operations

Membership

The IFAB is made up of representatives from England's Football Association (The FA), the Scottish Football Association (SFA), the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and Northern Ireland's Irish Football Association (IFA)—and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA, the International Association Football Federation), the international governing body for football. Each British or Irish association has one vote and FIFA has four. IFAB deliberations must be approved by three-quarters of the vote, or at least six of the eight votes. ^[10] Thus, FIFA's approval is necessary for any IFAB decision, but FIFA alone cannot change the Laws of the Game—they need to be agreed by at least two of the UK members. As of 2016, all members must be present for a binding vote to proceed. ^[10]

Meetings of the board

The Board meets twice a year, once to decide on possible changes to the rules governing the game of Football (the Annual General Meeting (AGM)) and once to deliberate on its internal affairs (the Annual Business Meeting (ABM)). In FIFA World Cup years, the AGM is held at FIFA's offices; otherwise, it rotates between Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland in that order. ^[10] Four weeks before the AGM, the member associations must send their written proposals to the secretary of the host association. FIFA then prints a list of suggestions that are distributed to all other associations for examination. The AGM is held either in February or March and the ABM is held between September and October. ^[11] In cases of necessity, the Board can meet in a Special Meeting in addition to the two ordinary annual meetings. As of December 2012, the last Special Meeting was hosted by FIFA in Zürich on 5 July 2012. ^[12]

The decisions of each year's Annual General Meeting of the Board regarding changes to the Laws of the Game enter into force from 1 July (and are binding on FIFA and on the other members of the Board, and, given that FIFA's Statutes establish that FIFA and its member associations and affiliates adhere to the Laws of the Game laid down by IFAB, those changes bind also FIFA's other member associations, FIFA's continental confederations of member associations, and the subnational entities of the national associations) but confederations, member associations and other bodies whose current season has not ended by 1 July may delay the introduction of the adopted alterations to the Laws of the Game in their competitions until the beginning of their next season. ^[13] As well as permanent changes to the Laws, IFAB also authorises trials of potential amendments. ^[14]

List of IFAB Annual General Meetings

Year	Date	Host	Location	Venue	Votes						Notes / references [15]
					FA	SFA	FAW	IFA	FIFA	Required to amend laws
1886	1 June	FA	London	Football Association Offices, 51 Holborn Viaduct	2	2	2	2	0	100%	First meeting
1887	1 June	SFA	Glasgow	Scottish Football Association Offices, 6 Carlton Place							First meeting to amend the Laws of the Game
1888	25 June	FAW	Wrexham	Wynnstay Arms Hotel							[16]
1889	1 June	IFA	Belfast	Commercial Hotel							[17]
1890	2 June	FA	London	Anderton's Hotel							[18]
1891	2 June	SFA	Glasgow	Alexandra Hotel
1892	13 June	FAW	Llandudno	Prince of Wales Hotel
1893	10 June	IFA	Belfast	Hotel Shaftesbury							Date of subsequent meetings fixed to be the third Monday in June.
1894	18 June	FA	Windermere	Ferry Hotel
1895	17 June	SFA	Glasgow	Alexandra Hotel
1896	15 June	FAW	Aberystwyth	White Horse Hotel
1897	14 June	IFA	Rostrevor, Newry	Mourne Hotel
1898	20 June	FA	London	Football Association Offices, 61 Chancery Lane
1899	19 June	SFA	Glasgow	St. Enoch's Station Hotel
1900	18 June	FAW	Llangollen	Royal Hotel
1901	17 June	IFA	Giant's Causeway, Bushmills	tejas hotel also
1902	16 June	FA	Scarborough	Grand Hotel
1903	15 June	SFA	Ayr	Station Hotel							Date of subsequent meetings moved to the second Saturday in June.
1904	11 June	FAW	Bangor	British Hotel							[19]
1905	17 June	IFA	Killarney	Lake Hotel							First meeting to be held outside today's United Kingdom.
1906	9 June	FA	Bowness-on-Windermere	Royal Hotel
1907	8 June	SFA	Oban	Alexandra Hotel
1908	19–20 June	FAW	Llandrindod Wells	Rock Hotel
1909	12 June	IFA	Bundoran	Great Northern Hotel
1910	11 June	FA	Brighton	Royal York Hotel
1911	11 June	SFA	Turnberry, Ayrshire	Station Hotel
1912	8 June	FAW	Aberystwyth	Queen's Hotel
1913	14 June	IFA	Portrush	Northern Counties Hotel	2	2	2	2	2	80%	First meeting to include FIFA
1914	13 June	FIFA	Paris	Hotel Palais D'Orsay							First meeting held outside Britain and Ireland. Last meeting before the First World War.
1920	12–14 June	FA	Torquay	Torbay Hotel	2	2	2	2	0	100%	First meeting after the First World War. FIFA again excluded.
1921	11 June	SFA	Portpatrick	Portpatrick Hotel
1922	10 June	FAW	Llandudno	Imperial Hotel
1923	9 June	IFA	Giant's Causeway, Bushmills	Causeway Hotel							Last meeting to exclude FIFA
1924	14 June	FA	London	Football Association Offices, 42 Russell Square	2	2	2	2	2	80%
1925	13 June	FIFA	Paris	11 Rue de Londres
1926	12 June	SFA	St Andrews	Grand Hotel
1927	11 June	FAW	Llandudno	Grand Hotel
1928	9 June	IFA	Newcastle	Slieve Donard Hotel
1929	8 June	FIFA	Paris	Fédération Française de Football Association Offices, 22 Rue de Londres
1930	14 June	FA	Bournemouth	Royal Exeter Hotel
1931	13 June	SFA	Auchterarder	Gleneagles Hotel
1932	11 June	FAW	Llandudno	Imperial Hotel
1933	10 June	IFA	Portrush	Northern Counties Hotel							Rules amended to allow FIFA-hosted meetings to take place in "the territory of a Continental National Association", rather than being restricted to Paris.
1934	9 June	FIFA	Cannes	Hôtel des Anglais
1935	8 June	FA	Shanklin	Daish's Hotel
1936	13 June	SFA	Troon	Marine Hotel
1937	12 June	FAW	Llandudno	Imperial Hotel
1938	11 & 13 June	IFA	Portrush	Northern Counties Hotel
1939	10 June	FIFA	Nice	Hotel Negresco							Last meeting held before World War II. A meeting was scheduled for London in 1940, but was abandoned when FIFA and IFA delegates were unable to attend.
1947	14 June	FA	Torquay	Imperial Hotel							First meeting held after World War II.
1948	12 June	FIFA	Montreux	Palace Hotel							First meeting held outside Britain, Ireland and France. Meeting would have regularly been hosted by the SFA, but it was unanimously agreed to accept an invitation from FIFA to host this meeting.
1949	11 June	SFA	Pitlochry	Hydro Hotel
1950	10 June	FAW	Beaumaris	Bulkeley Arms Hotel
1951	9 June	IFA	Portrush	Northern Counties Hotel
1952	14 June	FIFA	Capri	Morgano-Tiberio Hotel							Date of future meetings moved to third Saturday in June.
1953	20 June	FA	Eastbourne	Cavendish Hotel
1954	19 June	FIFA	Bern	Schweizerhof Hotel							The SFA agreed to forego its regularly scheduled hosting duties in order to allow FIFA to host the meeting at its 50th anniversary celebrations preceding the 1954 World Cup.
1955	18 June	SFA	North Berwick	Marine Hotel
1956	16 June	FAW	Llandudno	Imperial Hotel
1957	15 June	IFA	Portrush	Northern Counties Hotel
1958	7 June	FIFA	Stockholm	Hotel Foresta	1	1	1	1	4	75%	Meeting held on the day before the opening of the 1958 World Cup. New rules adopted, with greater voting weight given to FIFA "on behalf of all other National Associations in membership with it". Hosting rules changed to provide that "when the FIFA Congress and the World Cup coincide", FIFA should host the meeting at the World Cup venue, if practicable. Date of meeting may be any time in June.
1959	20 June	FA	St. Helier, Jersey	Pomme d'Or Hotel							First of four consecutive meetings hosted by the FA outside England in the Channel Islands
1960	18 June	SFA	St Andrews	Rusack's Marine Hotel
1961	17 June	FAW	Porthcawl	Seabank Hotel
1962	23 June	IFA	Newcastle	Slieve Donard Hotel
1963	15 June	FIFA	Venice	Palazzo della Camera di Commercio
1964	20 June	FA	St. Helier, Jersey	Grand Hotel
1965	19 June	SFA	Edinburgh	Caledonian Hotel
1966	11 June	FAW	Llandudno	Marine Hotel
1967	17 June	IFA	Newcastle	Slieve Donard Hotel							Last meeting hosted by the IFA for 13 years. The IFA withdrew from its regular hosting schedule during the 1970s owing to the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland.
1968	15 June	FIFA	Dubrovnik	Hotel Excelsior
1969	21 June	FA	St. Helier, Jersey	Grand Hotel
1970	27 June	SFA	Inverness	Caledonian Hotel
1971	19 June	FAW	Swansea	Dragon Hotel
1972	10 June	FIFA	Vienna	Parkhotel Schönbrunn							FIFA stepped in to replace the IFA.
1973	23 June	FA	St Peter Port, Guernsey	Duke of Richmond Hotel
1974	9 July	FIFA	Rottach-Egern	Hotel Bachmair							Meeting held two days after the final of the 1974 World Cup in nearby Munich. First meeting not held in June.
1975	21 June	SFA	Auchterarder	Gleneagles Hotel
1976	18 June	FAW	Porthcawl	Seabank Hotel
1977	19 June	FA	London	Royal Garden Hotel							The IFA withdrew from hosting this meeting.
1978	1 June	FIFA	Buenos Aires	Hotel Sheraton							First meeting outside Europe. Held on the opening day of the 1978 World Cup.
1979	16 June	SFA	Auchterarder	Gleneagles Hotel
1980	7 June	IFA	Craigavad, Holywood	Culloden Hotel
1981	13 June	FAW	Ruthin	Ruthin Castle							IFAB had accepted an invitation by FIFA President João Havelange to host this meeting in Brazil, but the invitation was subsequently withdrawn, with Havelange missing this meeting for personal reasons.
1982	6 July	FIFA	Madrid	Palacio de Congresos							Meeting held the day after the final of the 1982 World Cup
1983	9 July	FA	New Milton	Chewton Glen Hotel
1984	2 June	SFA	Turnberry, Ayrshire	Turnberry Hotel
1985	15 June	IFA	Craigavad, Holywood	Culloden Hotel
1986	30 May	FIFA	Mexico City	Camino Real Hotel							First (and, as of 2020, only) meeting in North America. Originally scheduled to be held in Zürich, but moved to Mexico in connection with the 1986 World Cup.
1987	13 June	FAW	Llandudno	Bodysgallen Hall
1988	4 June	FA	London	Royal Lancaster Hotel
1989	7 June	SFA	Edinburgh	Caledonian Hotel
1990	28 June	FIFA	Rome	Hilton Cavalieri Hotel							Held during the 1990 World Cup
1991	8 June	IFA	Craigavad, Holywood	Culloden Hotel
1992	30 May	FAW	Usk Valley, Newport	Celtic Manor Hotel							New rules adopted by IFAB: in future years there will be two annual meetings: the Annual General Meeting, held in February / March, and the Annual Business Meeting in September / October.
1993	27 February	FA	Thundridge, Hertfordshire	Hanbury Manor
1994	5 March	FIFA	Zürich	FIFA House
1995	4 March	SFA	Turnberry, Ayrshire	Turnberry Hotel
1996	9 March	FIFA	Rio de Janeiro	Copacabana Palace Hotel							Last meeting held outside Europe (as of 2020). Originally scheduled to be hosted by the IFA in Northern Ireland, but moved to Brazil at the instigation of outgoing FIFA President João Havelange.
1997	1 March	IFA	Craigavad, Holywood	Culloden Hotel
1998	6 March	FIFA	Paris	Hôtel Plaza Athénée
1999	20 February	FAW	Groes-faen, Vale of Glamorgan	Miskin Manor Hotel
2000	19 February	FA	Taplow, Berkshire	Cliveden
2001	10 March	SFA	Edinburgh	Balmoral Hotel
2002	16 March	FIFA	Zermatt	Hôtel Mont Cervin
2003	15 March	IFA	Craigavad, Holywood	Culloden Hotel
2004	28 February	FIFA	London	Claridge's Hotel							Hosted in London by FIFA as part of its centenary celebrations, to celebrate the role of the four Home Associations in the development of the game. [20] [21]
2005	26 February	FAW	Groes-faen, Vale of Glamorgan	Miskin Manor Hotel							[22]
2006	4 March	FIFA	Lucerne	Palace Hotel							120th anniversary. [23]
2007	3 March	FA	Manchester	Lowry Hotel
2008	8 March	SFA	Auchterarder	Gleneagles Hotel
2009	28 February	IFA	Newcastle	Slieve Donard Hotel
2010	6 March	FIFA	Zürich	FIFA headquarters							[24]
2011	5 March	FAW	Usk Valley, Newport	Celtic Manor Hotel							[23]
2012	3 March	FA	Bagshot, Surrey	Pennyhill Park Hotel							[25]
2013	2 March	SFA	Edinburgh	Balmoral Hotel							[26]
2014	1 March	FIFA	Zürich	FIFA headquarters							[27]
2015	27 February–1 March	IFA	Craigavad, Holywood	Culloden Hotel							[28] [29]
2016	5 March	FAW	Cardiff	St. David's Hotel and Spa							130th Anniversary. [30] [31]
2017	3 March	FA	Wembley, London	Wembley Stadium							[32] [33]
2018	3 March	FIFA	Zürich	FIFA headquarters							[34] [35]
2019	2 March	SFA	Aberdeen	Marcliffe Hotel							[36]
2020	29 February	IFA	Craigavad, Holywood	Culloden Hotel							[37]
2021	5 March	FAW	Meeting held by videoconference [38]	N/A							[39]
2022	25 March [40]	FIFA	Meeting held by videoconference [38]	N/A	[41] [42]
2023	4 March	FA	London	Wembley Stadium	[43]
2024	2 March	SFA	Loch Lomond	Cameron House	[44]

References

1. Tom Dunmore (16 September 2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer. Scarecrow Press. pp. 150–. ISBN   978-0-8108-7188-5. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
2. Association, The Football. "The History of The FA". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
3. "The International Match: England v Scotland". Nottingham Journal: 6. 27 January 1886.
4. "Scottish Football Association". Cricket and Football Field: 12. 13 February 1886.
5. "TheFA.com - History of The FA". 20 February 2008. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
6. "International Football Association Board meeting 1886". englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
7. "International Football Association Board meeting 1912". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
8. Annual General Meeting 1958 - Minutes. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://downloads.theifab.com/downloads/annual-general-meeting-1958-minutes?l=en ‌
9. "Minutes of the 1923 Annual General Meeting" (PDF). p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
10. "Article 7: General Assembly" (PDF). Statutes of the International Association Football Board (IFAB). 5 March 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
11. Form & Function FIFA - FIFA paper on the role of the IFAB
12. FIFA.com
13. FIFA Statutes FIFA
14. Gibson, Owen (5 March 2016). "Football's lawmakers approve live trials for video technology to aid referees". The Observer. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
15. Details from the IFAB archives Archived 3 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
16. "International Football Conference at Wrexham". Wrexham Advertiser: 8. 30 June 1888.
17. "International Football Conference". Northern Whig (25215). Belfast: 7. 3 June 1889.
18. "Football: The International Association Board". Lancashire Evening Post (1127): 6. 3 June 1890.
19. "International Football Board". The Standard (24953). London: 8. 13 June 1904.
20. "FIFA to pay tribute to British football at International Football Association Board meeting in London". 13 February 2004. Archived from the original on 26 February 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
21. "FIFA Executive Committee and 118th International Football Association Board AGM Media Accreditation Request". Archived from the original on 15 February 2004. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
22. "Summary of the 2005 Changes to the Laws of the Game" (PDF). American Youth Soccer Organization. 26 February 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
23. "125th annual meeting of the International Football Association Board" (PDF). 5 March 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
24. "124th Annual General Meeting of the IFAB" (PDF). 6 March 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
25. "Agenda of the 126th IFAB Annual General Meeting" (PDF). 3 March 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
26. "Agenda of the 2013 IFAB General Meeting" (PDF). 2 March 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
27. "Agenda: 128th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board" (PDF). 1 March 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
28. "Minutes: 129th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
29. "Irish Football Association: Activity Report 2014-2015" (PDF). p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
30. "Agenda: 130th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
31. "Minutes: 130th Annual General Meeting of The International Football Association Board" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
32. "Agenda: 131st Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
33. "Minutes: 131st Annual General Meeting of The International Football Association Board" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
34. "132nd IFAB Annual General Meeting Agenda" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
35. "Minutes of the 132nd Annual General Meeting of The International Football Association Board" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
36. "SFA top brass will attend IFAB meeting to discuss rule changes". Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
37. "Lawmakers discuss football rule changes at meeting in Holywood". 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
38. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, delegates did not meet in person
39. "135th IFAB Annual General Meeting Agenda". 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
40. Postponed from previously scheduled date of 3 March -- see "136th IFAB Annual General Meeting postponed". 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
41. "136th Annual General Meeting of The International Football Association Board: Amendments to the Laws of the Game 2022/23". 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
42. "IFAB 136th Annual General Meeting". Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
43. "IFAB 137th Annual General Meeting". Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
44. "IFAB 138th Annual General Meeting" . Retrieved 10 March 2024.

External links

• Official website
• History of IFAB, including minutes of the meetings Soccer South Bay Referee Association
• FIFA/IFAB paper on the role of the IFAB FIFA